1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an automatic toilet seat device and, more particularly, to a toilet seat incorporating an electrical device for automatically raising and lowering the toilet seat.
2. Discussion of the Background
Without need for excessive elaboration, it is generally understood that in at least one respect, whether a person is male or female usually determines in what position, either up or down, that person would prefer a toilet seat to be in for use of the toilet. Generally, a male prefers the toilet seat to be in a raised position, while the female prefers the toilet seat to be in a lowered position for conformity with their respective anatomies. Typically, due to a male's behavioral patterns, however, it is widely accepted that in at least a substantial number of cases the male will not return the toilet seat to its lowered position after his use, thus rendering the toilet unsuitable for use by a subsequent female user.
A toilet seat remaining in an upright position could lead to a number of problems. In many occasions a certain amount of animosity between the females and males in a dual gender household may arise if the females have to continually return the toilet seat to its lowered position for their use. Further complications could arise if a female, in a partially somnolent state, attempted to use the toilet in the dark when the seat was in a raised position. Moreover, a raised toilet seat leads to a certain level of unsightliness, thus, possibly causing further tension if certain members of the household attempt to maintain the bathroom area in an orderly manner. Other problems could arise for a toilet user if the toilet seat was not in the most desirable configuration for a specific user. Some of these problems include difficulty in the manual operation of lowering or raising the toilet seat by persons suffering a variety of illnesses or handicaps, or by small children.
In addition to a toilet seat remaining in a prolonged raised position, there is also a certain loss of hygiene which occurs when a user is required to physically make contact with the toilet seat to either raise or lower the seat. As is well understood, the toilet seat and toilet seat area require a high level of disinfecting maintenance in order to provide a relatively free area from bacteria and germs. Since continued disinfection of this area is generally not feasible, a toilet seat will typically not be maintained in its most sanitary condition. Consequently, any user who must physically contact the toilet seat to either raise or lower it will be subject to these germs, and thus, may put his or her health at differing levels of unnecessary risk.
What is needed then is a device which will raise or lower a toilet seat without requiring a user to physically touch the seat, and further, will automatically lower the toilet seat without any intervention from the toilet user after use. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such a device.